Problem: Solve for $p$. $9(p-4)=-18$ $p =$
Solution: Let's divide and then add to get $p$ by itself. $\begin{aligned}9(p-4)&=-18 \\ \\\\ \dfrac{9(p-4)}{{9}} &= \dfrac{-18}{{9}} ~~~~~~~\text{divide each side by } {9}\\ \\ \dfrac{\cancel{9}(p-4)}{\cancel{9}} &= \dfrac{-18}{{{9}}} \\ \\ p-4&=\dfrac{-18}{9}\end{aligned}$ $\begin{aligned} p-4&= -2 \\ \\ p-4 {+4}&= -2{+4}~~~~~~~{\text{add }4} \text{ to each side to get } p \text{ by itself }\\ \\ p-\cancel{4}{+\cancel{4}}&=-2{+4} \\ \\ p&=-2{+4} \end{aligned}$ The answer: $p={2}~~~~~~~~$ [Let's check our work!]